I was walking through the streets of Manehatten the other ponies pushed past me in a hurry. I paid them no mind and kept walking starring up at the sky, i looked at the sun until i had to turn away. When i did i found myself in a barren tundra, explosions and gunfire rocking what had used to be a town called Ponyville. “Private were moving! Now!” yelled a pony decked out in combat gear and holding a rifle. “So I’m a private?” i thought “What, why?” i yelled “Have you lost it private?! We need to get out of here! We’ll be over run in minutes!” he yelled back “ha. That happened a long time ago” i said “you say something?” he yelled “No nothing, let’s move!” i yelled. He nodded then began sprinting down the road, i ran after him “Private were almost ther-” his sentence was cut short by a loud gunshot. Blood and bits of gore exploded out the side of his helmet, painting the road a dark crimson. I jumped to the side and rolled behind the cover of an old wagon. I had reflexes honed by approximately 180 years of combat experience “or had it been 190? I’ve lost track” i said. I peeked out from cover and saw a pony with a sniper rifle mounted on a building at the end of the road. A shot rang out and a patch of wood a few inches from my head exploded into splinters. I ducked my head back down and began to check myself for weapons. I found a piston holstered on my back leg and felt my forehead, i found i had a horn “unicorn this time?” i said “better than earth, but come on. Why never a pegasus?” i said “You’re so picky” i wined “No I’m not, i just like being a pegasus” i said blandly. “Well it’s not up to you now is it?” i said. I let out a sigh “this is not the time for this, shut up for a bit” i said “ok, fine. But only until you die” i replied “fine, fine. just get lost” i got my pistol ready and rolled out of cover, then levelled my pistol at the sniper and let off a burst of shots. At the same time the sniper fired a shot and my body jerked back a fist size hole in my chest. I collapsed to the ground and thought “already?” my vision blurred then went black.
I blinked my eyes open. I was sitting in a square padded room, i looked down and saw i was bound in a straitjacket and saw my wings had been bound. I looked around examining my cell, it was just as i remembered it. “How long has it been since I’ve been here... thirty... no forty years?” i said “i never liked this place, too boring” i said “that’s because its real life, get used to it i don't plan on leaving anytime soon” i said angrily “Ha, did you ever have a choice?” i said. “He had me there” i thought. Just then a solemn faced nurse cloud walked in with a bowl of soup on a tray. I kept my face expressionless and stared blankly into space. Right before she would have started spoon feeding me i looked into her eyes and gave her a big grin. Her face morphed into a smile and she set the tray on the ground and gave me a big bear-hug “Nighters! Your back!” she said merrily “is that my name?” i said confused. She took a few steps back and asked “how long has it been?” “forty or fifty years, i was starting to wonder if I’d ever come back” i said sheepishly “Oh Celestia!” she said and hugged me again tears in her eyes “it’s only been a week here, It must be so hard on you” we stayed that way for a while then she stood back up and said “you must be hungry, I’ll go get you some real food” and ran out of the room. A minute later she walked in a heaping tray of food. I smiled “are you gonna take this jacket off or are you gonna feed me?” i asked sarcastically. She chuckled and undid the straps then pulled the jacket off. I flexed my wings and sat down to eat “What no hello to me?” I said “can‘t you shut up for a while?” I said sighing. “Hello Star, it’s good to see you again” Cloud said. I resumed eating and Cloud sat there with me waiting patiently “So have I missed anything?” I asked, already knowing the answer. There wasn’t anything to miss around here, but over the next hour cloud told me all the details of the other patients and even some of her home life. Star and I had become close friends, she said after you get over the whole retreating into my mind for weeks on end I'm not a bad guy. After she was done she said “Well I have to get going, I’ll be back to check on you in a few hours” and slipped the straitjacket back on then walked out, closing the door behind her. I sighed and stared at the door “Hey, you did realise she didn’t close the door right?” Star said. I cocked an eyebrow “She would never miss something like that, she’s way too careful” I said. But as I looked the door was open the slightest bit, just enough that it didn’t lock. “Here” Star said and I weird feeling washed over me, the next thing I know I was wriggling around in the straitjacket and within thirty seconds I had the arms untied so I could walk “Now go idiot!” Star snapped. I hadn’t walked in a while and it showed as I stumbled to the door and out into the hall. Hobbling turned into dead sprinting as I rounded a corner and rushed at the fire door. I shouldered it open barley slowing, a wailing alarm sounded and I kept running until I was outside in the courtyard and staring at the big fence surrounding the property. I reached back and tore two wing holes in the straitjacket with my teeth. I took a few steps back then ran and jumped at the fence, I had not flown in even longer but my ragged flapping was enough to clear the big fence. I toppled to the ground on the other side and took off down the street.
The cobble clicked under my hooves and I stumbled awkwardly down the street. It had been a least an hour of solid running through dense forest but I finally saw the outskirts of a small town as I emerged from the trees. I ran for the closest building I could find an old hollowed out tree turned library. I could hear sirens from the ambulance, no doubt searching for me. I peeked in through the window and scanned inside, I didn’t see anypony and all the lights were out. I turned my flank to the window and gave it a sharp buck. The glass exploded inward and I scrambled in after it, the long sleeves of the straitjacket making it hard to climb in. Finally I wiggled through and toppled to the ground with a thud. My brain spiked with adrenalin it shot up, closed the shutters, and waited. It seems nopony had heard me. I sighed in relief. No sooner than the sigh escaped my lips, a key jingled in the door “Fuck me.” I mumbled. I dove for the closest doorway which turned out to be a small kitchen. The door swung open and I heard voices in the main room “Applejack! How could you say that!?” somepony said in a playfully scolding tone. I trotted back and forth silently looking for a hiding place, which I found none. “Fuck!” I said and plopped down in a chair next to a dining table. I was trapped in here with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, if I tried escape they might get the wrong impression when ran at them in a straitjacket. So, I waited. The conversation died and I assumed they had found the smashed window “Twi I'm gonna check it out, you wait here. Holler if ya see anything.” a mare said in a strong cowpony accent. There was silence for a while. “Looks clear, musta been the wind” the cowpony said. “Tisk, tisk, you should really be more thorough.” Star said. “Well I'm going to put these in the kitchen” a mare said and I heard movement coming towards me. “Well shit.” I mumbled. A unicorn with a purple coat and a dark purple mane with a few lines of color in it walked in hovering a bag of groceries and flicked on the light switch. She just stared for a second. The groceries fell to the floor and she focused a blast of magic at me “Who are you and, what are you doing here?!” she shouted. “Names Nighters” I said extending a hoof, the too long sleeve of my straitjacket hanging down. A look of recognition dawned on her face and she would have loosed a magic shot of at me, had I not kicked a chair from under the table sending it flying into her forelegs. She toppled to the tile face first. I glided off my chair and made my way to the door. An earth pony with an orange coat and blonde mane wearing a cowpony hat ran into the kitchen and immediately tried to buck me in the face. I slid to the side and kicked out her forelegs mid-buck dropping her to the ground. I turned to face the unicorn and instead, met a blast of magic to the face. I took a few staggering steps before collapsing into darkness. “That could have went better.” Star said. My mind was fogged and I couldn’t even think of a reply “Huh. That mind missile must have fucked you up eh?” I heard a chuckle “Then you won’t mind if I take over for a bit?” “Good. I’d like to have a chat with the nice mares” Star blinked open his eyes “Twilight how long should that hold em?” the cowpony said “He will be out for another few hours for sure, don’t worry applejack.” Twilight said. Star found himself lying on a couch in the main room of the library “Sweet Celestia! Did you beat him after he was down or what?” Star moaned rising from the couch. The two ponies swung around and faced star “How did you get out of my spell?” Twilight asked “Quite simple really, you never hit me with a spell. This is the first time we’ve spoken, the names Star. And I don’t much like you beating up Nighters like that. Do you know how annoying it is to move in this body?” Twilight looked at Star with face full of confusion “What?” she said dumbly. Star sighed “Me and Nighters share the same noggin, why you think we’re in a straitjacket to begin with?” It seemed to click for the unicorn and she bowed her head a bit “I'm sorry about that I just was sort of surprised is all.” A small part of him thought it was adorable, another part of him laughed. It was the soulless cackle of a madpony, which send a chill down Stars spine and made him very, very, scared.
